By CHIMAOBI UCHENDU
It is no longer news that the so-called Club Owners in the Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL, under the leadership of Isaac Danladi in 2016 collected a whopping sum of N244 million TV Right money and butchered same among themselves under 18 hours.
After the series of reports by the media on this monumental scandal by the club Owners since 2016, it appears that the matter has been swept under the carpet. But with the new wave of condemnations of the activities of the club owners by Nigerians, it is now imperative for the Sports Minister, Sunday Dare and President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Ibrahim Gusau to re-visit how the money was spent without a dime given to the clubs and the players who are the major stakeholders..
According to report, the money initially paid into the Zenith Bank account of the NPFL, was surreptitiously moved to the Club Owners account in Nasarawa by the leadership of the group.
Many Nigerians who have condemned the outrageous fraud by the club owners have called on the NFF to sack the body immediately even as some of them are poised to frustrate the new Independent Management Committee, IMC, set up by the football apex house to midwife a vibrant Nigerian league.
Find below is how The Punch of February 26, 2017 reported the Club Owners’ scam:
Crisis rocks Nigerian football over N244m money (2)
Tana Aiyejina
The last may not have been heard of the N244m Nigeria Football League Limited broadcast rights money, as football stakeholders have raised eyebrows over how the money was spent by the Club Owners Association, a group not recognised in the Articles and Memorandum of the NFLL.
The National Association of Nigerian Footballers had petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission seeking the release of the money by broadcast rights holder Total Promotions. On the directive of the ant-graft agency, Total Promotions lodged the N244m, which was part of the money for three league seasons, with the Lagos division of the EFCC on June 23, 2016.
Last week, SUNDAY PUNCH reported that the N244m was allegedly transferred from the NFLL Zenith Bank account to the club owners account by Tunji Babalola (NFLL account signatory A) and Esther Adesuyi (NFLL account signatory B) after it was lodged in the NFLL account by the EFCC in November 2016.
Aside the total sum of N120m paid to 25 clubs from the money, how the broadcast rights money was shared has largely been shrouded in secrecy.
Each club that participated during the three seasons were each entitled to N2m per season from the broadcast rights money, which means a total of N120m was paid to 25 clubs.
Thirteen clubs namely Akwa United, Bayelsa United, Dolphin (defunct), Enyimba, El Kanemi, Heartland, Kano Pillars, Lobi Stars, Nasarawa United, Enugu Rangers, Sharks (defunct), Sunshine Stars and Warri Wolves, who participated in the three seasons, were entitled to N6m each.
Gombe United, Giwa FC, Nembe, Kaduna United, Kwara United, Taraba United, Wikki Tourists, 3SC and Abia Warriors played in two seasons and should receive N4m each while ABS, Crown and IfeanyUbah played a season and were entitled to N2m each.
Adesuyi said she was not aware of how the money was spent or shared after she and Babalola facilitated the transfer of the money from the NFLL account.
“What I know is that I and Tunji signed to move the money from the Nigeria Football League (account) to club owners’ account. They are the ones that disbursed the money. We moved N243m to club owners’ account and the money was paid to some people that we owe,” she added.
But she confessed that she was given “little” from the N244m but refused to state how much she collected.
“As a signatory, I have been moving around with fuel and for the stress, they gave me little and they said by the time they (Total Promotions) pay the remaining money (N100m), they will still try to do something more,” she stated.
For writing the petition against Total Promotions, NANF was given N24m (10 per cent of the money) by the club owners.
However, the N24m seems to have split NANF into two factions after it was paid into an account operated by the Larry Kubeinje group.
In reaction to the first part of the story, NANF in a statement signed by its president Harrison Jalla, titled ‘Re: Crisis rocks Nigerian football over N244m Tv money’ and dated February 20, 2017, said the initial arrangement was for the NFLL to share the money to the beneficiaries, but alleged that Babalola diverted the process in favour of the club owners led by Nasarawa United chairman Isaac Danladi.
The statement read, “The money was to be disbursed by the Baribote (NFLL) board. The EFCC actually contacted Chief Rumson Baribote to set up a committee for the disbursement being the immediate past chairman of NFL but Baribote at the time was unavailable as he is currently pursuing a law degree at the Osun State University.
“It was Tunji Babalola that deliberately shifted the disbursement to Isaac Danladi led Club Owners Association.
“As we speak, the disbursement of the N244m has been shrouded in secrecy; even the percentage to NANF was diverted to an illegal account with the connivance of Isaac Danladi. That matter is currently under police investigation.”
The statement added, “The idea behind NANF’s petition was to recover several millions of naira of football money to ensure the outstanding salaries, allowances and contract fees of players, coaches, and managers were paid; the Sterling Bank loan of N128m to the Nigeria Football League was serviced, outstanding debts of NFL paid and running cost of the Nigeria Football League secretariat is set aside. None of the above initiative was achieved; the N244m was frittered away by frivolous claims.
“I, Jalla, the progenitor of the idea to get the TV rights money paid to the Nigeria Football League never saw any list containing the disbursement and payment schedule to the beneficiaries. NANF wants to use this opportunity to assure all football stakeholders that it will immediately initiate proceedings to compel Isaac Danladi to publish the list of beneficiaries and schedule of payment of the N244m. Football stakeholders reserve the right to know how the N244m was disbursed being a public fund.”
Danladi denied Jalla’s claims, saying he never connived with Kubeinje to divert the N24m meant for NANF.
He said, “Kubeinje collected the draft with the consent of Harrison. I was there; there was even a meeting before the cheque was handed over.
“Who wrote the petition? It is Kubeinje’s name that is on the petition. That was the argument, because if it was Kubeinje that wrote it, even if it was on behalf of somebody, we felt it should be given to him (Kubeinje) so that he could give it to whoever directed him. If he didn’t deliver it, how is that the problem of the club owners?”
In another letter dated February 23, titled N244m TV Rights and addressed to Danladi, NANF requested him (Danladi) to “urgently publish the full list of beneficiaries of the N244m.”
The players union stated that its name was at stake and urged Danladi to release the list of beneficiaries within seven days or face the wrath of the law.
“The N244m being public fund, it would only be appropriate and in consonance with the current government of President Muhammadu Buhari’s zero tolerance to corruption, that you (Danladi) make a publication of the full list of the beneficiaries of the TV rights money to put the controversy to a permanent rest,” the letter to Danladi read.
It added, “But should you fail or refuse to do the needful within seven days of your receipt of this letter, we shall have no option but compel you within the ambit of the law.”
Danladi on Thursday acknowledged receipt of the letter. “I got it (letter) but I don’t have anything to say because the club owners association is not answerable to NANF. I have to show the letter to my members,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Secretary General of the National Association of Nigerian Professional Footballers Austin Popo has alleged that players and coaches, who should have been part of the beneficiaries, were left out, claiming that it was the officials that benefitted mainly from the money disbursed to the clubs.
He stated, “We learnt that some past chairmen and officials of the Nigeria Premier League were also paid monies for their services and expenses rendered the league body, while the players and coaches who produced the funds based on their collective image rights, were never considered in spite of our numerous appeals to the club owners and the clubs to pay the affected players and coaches.
“Nigerians must know how the money was shared. Some club chairmen collected N6m and gave nothing to players and these are people who were not even there when this money was generated. My concern is that only one player was paid N500,000 by Bayelsa United from the over N1m they owe him. I was calling all the club chairmen who promised that they will pay the players once they were paid from the N244m. But as soon as they got the money, they stopped picking my calls.”
Popo said the players union, which is affiliated to the Trade Union Congress, had also petitioned the Senate over the issue.
“We wrote a petition to the Senate Committee on Sports. The club owners should be invited to tell the world how the money was shared because the information we received is that even past chairmen of the Nigeria Premier League collected some money.
“They said some people (NANF) wrote the petition and the club owners entered an agreement with the petitioners (NANF) to pay them (NANF) N24m. And these are people who claim they are players union; they collected money and didn’t find out if the players they claimed to be representing actually collected the money. So, let us see the schedule of payment and let the whole world know why they didn’t pay players who are the main actors. It’s unfortunate.”
A legal practitioner Rilwan Alli called on the security agencies to properly investigate how the money was spent by the club owners.
He stated, “If you look at the records available here, up until today, there’s no functional (NFLL) board. So, if there’s no functional board that can manage the affairs of the NFLL, on whose authority was the money transferred to NANF or the club owners? In fact, it’s a clear question of collision; there is fraud somewhere that needs to be investigated.
“Not until this fraud is brought to the knowledge of Nigerians, we won’t have rest. If there’s no board, there’s nobody who can give authority for the N244m to be transferred. And since there’s nobody that has given an authority to transfer, then it means there is a fraud for having transferred the money to the club owners account.”
Factional President of the Nigeria Football Federation Chris Giwa also raised the alarm over what he termed “the mysterious disappearance” of the N244m paid into the NFLL account by the Lagos division of the EFCC.
The management committee of the NFLL, installed by Giwa’s faction of the NFF, claimed that they made several efforts to stop Zenith Bank Wuse branch from releasing the money to the club owners to no avail.
“When we heard that the Union Bank draft (of the N244m) had been domiciled in the NFLL account in Zenith Bank, on November 6, 2016, I wrote to Zenith Bank, Area 3, Wuse branch, on November 7, 2016, informing them that no transaction should be allowed to take place in the account. When the letter was taken to the bank in the morning at 7.30am, the bank didn’t acknowledge it,” Kasali Obanoyen, NFLL secretary said.
“When the letter was rejected by the bank, I did another letter same day detailing and reaffirming that the NFLL is aware that the money has not been moved and it should not be moved. And that Babalola no longer has such a mandate to give directive to the bank on how money should be spent by a new board headed by Dr. Sam Sam Jaja,” Obanoyen added.
He alleged that some of those in charge of the N244m dangled a cash offer at him, for him to withdraw his earlier letter to the bank.
He stated, “As a matter of fact, I was told that I was going to be given money if I would see it fit again to write another letter to the bank indicating that my first letter should be jettisoned, but I saw that as a booby-trap. My integrity would not be tarnished by money that does not belong to me. When they dangled their carrot, I told them they could go and eat their carrot, even though it would not digest appropriately in their stomachs.
“I was subjected and inundated by pressure from them, if I had any interest. But I said ‘no.’ This money belongs to the NFLL. If anything needs to be done, a decision should be taken by the board. I was never a party to how the money was spent.”
Meanwhile, the headquarters of the NFLL on 30, Karaye Close, Garki II, Abuja, has been taken over by Sterling Bank. The property was acquired through a N100m loan from Equitorial Bank (now Sterling Bank) in 2009 but till date, the NFLL has been unable to pay back any amount to the bank, which left stakeholders wondering why the club owners didn’t pay the bank from the broadcast rights money.
Before the property was taken over by the bank, a major part of it was lying in ruins and abandonment. Adesuyi, said they were hoping to pay off the loan collected from the bank when Total Promotions paid the remaining N100m, the balance of the broadcast rights money.
She stated, “We still owe some people, especially this (NFLL) house. They said by the time Total Promotions pay the balance (of N100m), they will use it to pay for the house.